what did we get? >> this is a pretty bad one. former boss cut his toenails and spit into a cup at meetings. way too bossy, way too early. way too gross. >> really? i'm sorry for eating breakfast. "morning joe" starts now. after careful deliberation i have decided the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets. >> wow. america taking military action against the middle east regime. it's like i never left. so what's brought the president to this decision? >> 50 tons of mustard gas on a turkey farm. >> wrong president.

that is a different country. >> leave kuwait or be driven out. >> same country and family, but a slightly different war. >> today, we celebrate our independence day! [ cheers and applause ] >> that is a fictional president and, to be fair, that war was pretty justified. >> good morning. it's wednesday, september 4. it's a beautiful sunrise over washington, d.c. looking over the river, over the potomac. see the capitol in the distance. september 4th. can you believe it? we have former secretary treasury official and future treasury secretary steve radner. visiting professor at nyu, future billionaire, former democratic congressman harold ford, jr. >> good morning. >> former foreign policy adviser to the bush administration dan

senor. . you tell me what you'll be when you grow up. and from bbc news world america katy kay and host of an degrera mitchell reports and robert gibbs. let's start with the high profile kidnapping case out of cleveland. >> big news overnight. ariel castro was sentenced to life in prison plus a thousand years after pleading guilty to imprisoning and raping three women over the course of a decade. let's get a report from where it happened. >> reporter: good morning. we have learned overnight ariel castro has killed himself. he was found in his prison cell in southern ohio around 9:20 last night. authorities performed cpr,

wrought h brought him to a columbus-area hospital. -in protective custody, being hon tored every 30 minutes. it's unclear how he did this, what he may have used. an investigation is under way this morning. consider how fast this has happened. four months ago the three women he kidnapped, raped and tortured were held in a home that once stood behind us, now replaced by a park on cleveland's west side. this morning in this community, many applaud while others question how could there be such a lapse in the system? an investigation under way as word spreads across the country that ariel castro, the man who was put away for a thousand years, killed himself just weeks into his prison sentence. i'm chris tye in cleveland. back to you. >> a gruesome story just got more gruesome. lord knows what those women are thinking this morning. syria, the president and the

international community are keeping tabs on washington. a vote could come today on strategic strikes in syria. a senate resolution calls for a 60-daytimeframe with a one-time 30-day extension. it prohibits the use of ground forces. a similar plan will be push maryland the house. president obama won over many top leaders yesterday by making a case for limited strikes that send a message to the region. >> it is limited. it doesn't involve boots on the ground. this is not iraq. this is not afghanistan. >> this 1400, he crossed a line using chemical weapons. president obama didn't draw the red line. humanity drew it decades ago. >> this is something the united states, as a country, needs to do. i'm going to support the president's call for action. i believe my colleagues should support this call for action.

we have enemies around the world that need to understand that we are not going to tolerate this type of behavior. >> okay. the white house happy to get john boehner on board there. selling the plan on capitol hill is proving tougher. secretary of state john kerry was defiant facing off with skeptical senators. when kerry speculated about the possibility of sending in troops to secure chemical weapons , if syria deteriorated, he was quickly forced to back pe dal. >> i don't think any of us are willing to support the possibility of having combat boots on the ground. >> i don't want anything coming out of this hearing that leaves any door open to anies possibility. so let's shut that door now as tight as we can. >> shutting the door. one of the most heated rounds of questioning came when from senator rand paul. >> if the united states of america doesn't do this, senator, is it more or less likely that assad does it again?

do you want to answer ha? >> i don't think it's known. >> is it morales likely? >> i think it's unknown whether or not you have the attack. >> it's not unknown. if the united states of america doesn't hold them accountable on this with our allies and friend s, it's a guarantee assad will do it again. a guarantee . i urge you to go to the classified briefing and learn that. the president is asking for the authority to do a limited action. it will degrade the capacity of a tyrant who has been using chemical weapons to kill his own people. >> by doing so, you announce -- >> it's limited. >> by doing so you announce in advance your goal isn't winning. the last 50 years of secretaries of defense would say -- >> senator, when people are asked do you want to go to war in syria, of course not. 100% of americans say no. we say no. we don't want to go to war in

syria either. the president is not asking you to go to war. >> lively back and forth with rand paul. even a bit of a ticking off from the secretary of state. the former secretary of state hillary clinton approves of the president's approach. joe, a lively day on oh capitol hill and we have four or five days before congress is back from recess. >> john kerry is a unique witness for the committee. he asks the questions and -- >> he was the chairman of the committee. >> he's no longer -- >> i understand. all the world's a stage. he doesn't realize he's moved on to a different part. absolutely fascinating. robert gibbs, i want to go to you. jon stewart talking about being away like nothing ever changed. how strange it seems to look and see nancy pelosi and barack obama leading the charge for

another u.s. military attack against a muslim country. things have changed, haven't they? >> let's be clear, joe . i think the analogy -- and you see it in columns today, the analogy that syria is iraq. you know, other than being in the same region of the world, that is probably where the similarities end. we are not searching for weapons of mass destruction. we know weapons of mass destruction have been used. i think nancy pelosi put it well for the world which is we are not en forcing a red line drawn by a president. we are enforcing a norm that has been part of oh internationaint relation s for a hundred years. that is the prevention and prohibition on the use of chemical weapons . it is a horrible atrocity when they are used in war. it is mind boggling to say the

least when someone uses them on their own people. that, i think, is what the case that this white house will continue to make on why acting now in sereyria in a limited fashion is important. >> there are obviously those that would disagree with you that that's sufficient legally under international law to go to war. others have used chemical weapons. >> not in 25 years, joe. >> we are where we are. so, robert, as somebody that advised the president on communication and many things for many years, don't you think it's important for him to get out in front and talk to the american people and explain why sere i can se syria isn't afghanistan or iraq. the man is subtle to a fault. sometimes he wants to stand there and have people believe in the goodness of barack obama. in this case, don't you think he

need s to connect the dots and explain what the attack will be? >> sure. >> and what it will not be? >> i think you have to do two things. they are playing an inside game trying to convince congress. no doubt they had a good day yesterday with the leadership in the house of both the democratic and republican side which is tremendously important. i think as they play the inside game it is imperative for them to play an outside game. not simply to explain why this strike will be limited, to reiterate why it isn't afghanistan or iraq. it's not a long-term commitment. you see the resolution curtails the days of the action. i think also going back and talking to the american people about the images we saw and the step over that line that assad took in using chemical weapons and reminding people why we are at this point and what we are

trying to enforce. i think all of that -- and you will see the white house do that. >> if you look at new polling out, it seems pretty obvious the white house needs to get the president out there and explain the importance of launching attacks. >> it will be interesting the to see if he does get out there, joe, whether it manages to change public opinion. certainly in the uk, public opinion hasn't shifted in favor of strikes. there is polling here from the washington post and abc that shows most americans, 59%, are opposed to a strike on syria. when asked how they would feel if allies like great britain and france were involved the gap narrows to andrea. >> i think they have to get past the bungling last week. the fact that the president was ambivalent and didn't communicate that to his

secretary of state and the vice president. kerry spoke twice. friday he spoke coming out of a session of the national security council sent out by the president for a call to arms and to declassify the intel jens. that's the penultimate step you do right before send sending missiles. that's not what you do a week or two before. my friend robert gibbs talked about sequencing on "meet the press." he was being careful in signalling that it was not the way he would have ordered it up. giggling right next to me here. the fact is now they are where they are. i think you talked about how dominant kerry was. he took over the hearing. john mccain when he wasn't playing iphone poker tried to push him back and was withering in his questioning. rand paul, most people thought

was posturing. i covered the hearing. marco rubio signalled that he has real concerns, what happened to the 100,000 plus people who died not from chemical weapons? why was the line drawn where it was and what is the difference there? they had a lot of questions, particularly from those who may run for president. overall they came out of the senate well. now the question is today in the house. >> there is real posing going on during the hearings. people setting up for iowa in 2016. dan, you will probably be in iowa with somebody. you will find somebody, be there. but i'm going to nail you to the wall. i think i know where you will be. let's talk about b the house. there are a lot of conservatives in the house that are concerned about this operation. >> mm-hmm. >> if i were a member of the house and the white house said, hey, we need you. this is how you feel today,

right? i'm not sure how you felt last week. you had joe biden, very impassioned, making a plea. then you had john kerry. then you underc him. then you said you were going to do it. then you decided the man who said everything is too important to wait for congress when it comes to appointing people or passing legislation says, on this issue i'm going to wait for congress. then you get the chairman of the joint chiefs saying, well, you know, we can attack now. we can attack later, it doesn't really matter. while that's happening we have intel from the ground and cbs news and other news agencies reporting that assad is moving his important assets to suburban neighborhoods where we'll never strike. this president is just taking his time. so why should i say, yeah, let's go into yet another muslim country and have the rest of the region hate us more when there

is no way this is going to be effective militarily because the president has dithered for so long. >> so the bumbling of the sequencing which i agree there are many examples. look at the implications on david cameron and the uk parliamentary i debate. secretary kerry is calling peers saying, we are going in days, get your government on board. cameron goes to the parliamentary floor with a wobbly whip operation. had he known congress would be debating this, he could have used that time to get his house in order. >> the answer is no, isn't it? >> i don't think it would have changed much minds in london. my sense is whatever the evidence they were presented with, lawmakers had decided they didn't want to be involved in another middle east on oh radiation with the outcome uncertain and the track record of the west getting involved in the arab world isn't great.

>> for god's sake, okay, they're british. okay? they don't have the resolve of the french. the french are with us. come on. when have the british ever been side by side with us in war? let's talk about the president of the united states. >> the house at this point, look -- tell the conservative member of congress why they should support him. >> i am as frustrated as any house republican. guess what. at the end of the day, right now, you are expressing a frustrated send meat meant. it's not a policy. we have a policy debate about a rogue nation bogged down in civil war experimenting with chemical weapons. the united states of america --

forget if the president drew the red line or not. >> by the way, the red line has been there for some time. >> right. >> president obama wasn't the first to draw it. >> by the way, it's not like congressional republicans were opposed to it. no congressional republican said don't draw the red line. they never criticized obama for too much. it was too little. now he wants to do something. >> what does it do? assad's moved his assets into neighborhoods now. the president said, the attack is coming. >> soon. >> what does it do? >> here is the threshold question. do they believe the military operation the president will take will have the effect of degrading assad's military in some way? i believe yes. there are mill take operations -- >> what -- >> serious damage syrian air capability, air bases.

>> military. >> it would degrade syria's military. >> steve. >> there are things we could do that would have an effect on assad. beyond that we drew a red line. said this was a nonstarter. now we need to do something militarily to address this issue with assad. we are not going to get rid of assad, stop them if they disperse things to suburban area. we have to respond militarily. we don't have a choice. >> in term tes of damaging his ability to do this again is whether or not we get ourselves involved in a bigger way. the question raised by someone at senate committee will be more prominent in the house. you will have liberal progressive members wanting to allow, how to en sure boots on the ground and the imprint doesn't get bigger. i think this passes. this was an unusual way to talk about using military action. the president, i think. gets his way and america will hold this guy accountable and do

the right thing. >> do you get a feeling the president will get his way on this? >> the president may have a harder time in the house. once boehner and pelosi came out together , kevin mccarthy, the republican whip is hanging back. cantor en dorsed it so boehner doesn't have to look over his shoulder as much. >> you have the pro israel lobby. other evidence -- >> the democratic side you have pro israel but if you're a democrat, you do not cross your own president in matters of war unless you really -- >> you're in the opposition, you shouldn't do it either unless you fundamentally disagree with the policy. republicans don't disagree with this. >> even republicans want to vote no, have the president not do it assuming it loses, have more gassing occur and have to explain that to the american people that you voted against it and stopped the president. >> over 100,000 people killed.

>> right. >> and the chemical weapons. and, i'm sorry, you know, i hate the people who say we have to stay in afghanistan because of pakistan. it's driven me crazy through the years. there is such a tight nexus between iran and seyria you hav to talk about iran and nuclear weapons when you talk about syria and chemical weapons. i will say something. i will throw this bomb in the middle of the place. assad is doing what assad is doing. he thinks barack obama is week because he doesn't think barack obama wants to get engaged in international affairs. he thinks he can get away with anything he wants to get away with. iranians are watching what happens now. that's my belief. i know a million obama supporters for america will disagree with me. but i think barack obama after saying assad must go and after

drawing red lines in the sand send s a really, really bad message, not only to the syrian s who really can't do damage in the long run, but to the iranians. their client state who really can do big trouble. katty kay, the shocking news from capitol hill yesterday, senator john mccain in the middle of the hearing lost while playing iphone poker. he even tweeted about it. >> he did. he said, big deal about being caught playing poker. actually the worst of it was that he lost. here 's the tweet. scandal, caught playing iphone game at three-plus-hour senate hearing. worst of all, i lost. maybe if the hearing had been longer he could have practiced more and might have won. who knows? three and a half hours for a hearing isn't enough time to get up with your poker. >> exactly.

i don't know how many people sat through three-hour armed services hearings where people are posing and as we said yesterday they were practicing their best lines for the west iowa, you know, republican party event. i would go to my iphone poker as well. that was a wide choice by the senator. coming up -- i'm sorry. go ahead. >> well, i was going to say an degr dst rea was there. she's downloading games for the next hearing. i can report the itunes store is humming. >> i feel your pain. up next on "morning joe" we'll talk to the senator bob menendez. also dr. brzezinski will be with us this morning along with author and expert of the middle east robin wright. she wrote the book on it.

later, "hardball"'s chris matthews. he wrote a book. that kennedy book just keeps selling. >> really? >> oh, my god! >> his new book. >> that will sell, too. chris is like the geico guy with all the money on the boat just flopping in the breeze. coming up next, the kentucky senate race gets nasty. mitch mcconnell's challenger is getting big outside money. that's the story that will be topping the politico playbook. so many fascinating races. also in texas john cornin looking over his shoulder at ted cruz. >> lindsey graham, too. >> he has a challenger. goodness, gracious. i thought we were supposed to fight the democrats. first, dylan drier has a check on the forecast. what's it look like today? >> absolutely perfect across most of the country. we lost the humidity, gained sunshine. temperatured cooled off. it will be a nice wednesday. right now it's almost fall-like

in the northeast where temperatures are in the 50s and 60s. we lost the humidity. when you have dewpoints in the 50s it's nice and dry, crisp air. it will only get drier into the end of week. 80 in boston today. 82 in washington, d.c. minneapolis, comfortable at 83 degrees. as we look at the satellite and radar, not a lot going on. best chance of strong storms in the interior pacific northwest. elsewhere it's quiet. a couple of scattered showers and storms in florida. you're watching "morning joe." what if we took all this produce from walmart and secretly served it up at this produce stand in the heart of grape country? it's a fresh-over! come taste some grapes - tell us what you think. these guys have an amazing sweetness.

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♪ it is that time of the morning. let's look at the morning papers have for us. the telegraph.

radiation levels at the fukushima nuclear plant reached unprecedented level s. readings were so high an unprotected individual would be killed within hours. the japanese government will funnel $500 million to fix the issues. the melt down at the plant is considered the worst nuclear crisis since chernobyl more than 25 years ago. >> from the washington post apple confirmed widely speculated september 10 date when the company is expected to announce the new iphone 5s. other announcements include a cheaper model of the smartphone and possibly new color options such as gold. >> ooh. i want that one. >> steve's color. >> green. >> i'm putting it on my christmas list, joe. new york times, kodak's restructuring is complete. the company has exited chapter 11. they are shifting the focus from film and cameras, about time, and moving toward packaging,

graphics and smartphone touch screens. they filed bankruptcy in january of 2012 after the company failed to compete in the growing digital market. >> from the lchl a. times, the cdc says 200 deaths from heart disease and strokes can be preevent ed. it recommends quitting smoking,le controlling blood pressure and cholesterol and the taking aspirin regularly. 800,000 u.s. citizens die from heart disease and strokes every year. that's nearly 30% of all deaths in america. >> from the new york daily news, bill deblasio found himself at the center of attacks last night. >> it's bill talking out of oh both sides of his mouth, making a list that's supposed to help tenants but ended up becoming a campaign fundraising list. >> this is another example of bill saying one thing and doing something quite different when it is politically ex-paid yent for him. >> he's been good on that stuff. term limits, yes, he flip

flopped. his policies aren't as good as mine. >> here the public advocate wants to tax millionaires. meanwhile defended wall street for years against higher taxes. he wants to re form stop and frix. for year s he h defended it as a legitimate police tool. >> he 's the center of attention according to a poll. bill deblasio is the man to beat leading the field with 43%. up 9% from the last poll. it puts him in position to avoid a run-off. bill thompson next at 20%. christine quinn was once the clear leader now in third and anthony weiner, just 7%. >> a lot of grumbling from new york city residents. somebody said -- and i won't reveal it, he may be your next mayor, scary. christine quinn brought up the news story that he had a supposed list of the worst slum

lords. if you pay him enough money according to the daily news you get off the list. >> there's been a bunch of stuff lately. the pace of politics and you and harold know it well. timing can be everything . deblasio, he was hanging back from the pack. nobody paid much attention. they are focused on chris quinn. you had anthony weiner and all that. le then de blasio ran the commercial. >> stop and frisk is the center of the campaign, for better or worse. i think you would agree, joe. i have not seen a television ad as compelling and powerful. >> it changed everything. with his son. >> no doubt. >> just a few days to go but that was a powerful ad. >> i think there is a potential the day after primary election day where new yorkers who don't vote in a democratic primary.

there is a freak out moment. pro tax agenda, pro teacher's union. >> the freak out moment is happening now. at least among people i talk to. this appears to be happening. the question is, is it even imaginable they will elect a democrat in this day and age. we had rudy giuliani. politics have changed. donny deutsch said no republican -- donny said it. i will vote for a republican before i vote for de blasio. >> i might as well. >> 1.2 million people typically vote in a new york city mayoral election. what if there were a freak out moment and the numbers went up by a few hundred thousand. could a lot of voters make it competitive? he may win but if you have a competitive race you pay attention. >> harold, why didn't you run for mayor? >> that would solve our problems. >> it's hard to poll in a

democratic primary in new york. interesting to see if bill -- it's hard to imagine him winning. i think he'll face a run-off. >> i bet no runoff. >> i think if you look at the trends here. >> look at the trends. i would be sproiz surprised if deblasio weren't higher. we have seen these races where somebody comes from last to first. >> it's a surge. >> they explode. man, it's a surge. i wouldn't be surprised if deblasio gets 50%. >> he's at 43. the rest are at 45. the trends are going all in one direction. a multi candidate field where several people on top attack each other. somebody from behind comes. practice this. mayor de blasio. >> it's going to happen. >> he's going to win it. he will be the next mayor of new

york. i know there is hand wringing. but practice that. >> why do you say that? there is no way a republican candidate could beat him? >> i don't think any of these republican candidates are in danger of beating him, no. >> i agree. whichever democrat wins the city, the demographics have changed in the last 8 to 12 years since rudy giuliani and blumberg. >> it's almost impossible for a republican to win. >> it's an uphill battle but we come out of the primary and polls show the race with lota in the 30s or 40s people will say, this is new york city. 6-1 democratic registration and he's in the 40s? the press will scrutinize d de blasio. it could be competitive. >> there is another option. >> through there is a hope of reality. >> the good news for you, steve.

>> what is the news? >> you will have eliot spitzer as the shadow mayor. he will run for mayor in 2017. he will be our mayor. >> why run for mayor in 2017 if you're the de facto mayor in 2014. >> nicer house. >> very good. we have the mayer i don't of politico mike allen here with the morning playbook. we have senate races developing. look at kentucky. it's fascinating what's happening in texas with ted cruz. not so subtly moving away from john cornin. you go to other states, fascinating. talk about kentucky for a second. you have mitch mcconnell, $10 million in the bank. things should be secure for him, but it may not be the case, politico is reporting.

>> it's not. we talked to top republicans in washington who are worried about mitch mcconnell. they say he'll do fine in the primary he faces. now we have one of the oh first signs of the nationalzation of the race. national democrats rushing into the race to support allison grimes, current secretary of state running against mitch mcconnell in november. jeffrey katzenburg, one of the biggest donors to the super pac. >> a big kentucky man. >> right. interestingly enough he's doing a fundraiser for grimes. she's going to l.a. he's having it out september 26, right before the september 30 deadline for her to show her financial muscle. >> that's fascinating. dan the, what do you hear out of kentucky? >> republicans are more concerned about the general than the primary. the combination of a primary and

general just means senator mcconnell will be in a weaker position. both my parents went to the university of oh kentucky. i have grown up around a lot of kentucky people. mitch isn't naturally a kentucky guy that will walk into a southern baptist church, pat people on the back. he's a great operator in washington. we know that. i guess in the challenge it makes it harder whether you are a republican or a democrat. if you seem to be more of washington than, say, of home southern state you're from. >> i think that's what happens. tends to happen with a lot of senators and even some house members in leadership. their states may change slightly or even in some states change more. what was fascinating yesterday was we showed the clip between kerry and rand paul. the person who came out and

didn't say anything positive about syrian action was mitch mcconnell. my hunch is mcconnell won't get in front of rand paul on this. whether it's on sere i can't or any issue. thes guys are watching them to find out what to say and how to vote. that will happen not just on syria but every issue until a general election is done. >> in fact, mitch mcconnell got out of the white house briefing and scurried to the car. he didn't come on camera. >> didn't say a word. >> mike, we have to go, but i have to ask you. you guys are writing about marco rubio's evolution on syria. you had a guy who came in as a ne ocon. now he's a tea partier on foreign policy. where is he going to land? >> the signs are, joe, he'll be against intervention.

for two years. >> he's been banging the drum. >> absolutely. what he's saying now is it's too late. the administration should have listened to him when he was saying they should have armed the rebels. now it's too late. >> i think he eel come around. >> got marco back in your camp? >> he'll come around. he's frustrated as republicans are. >> frustrated rand paul is out maneuvering him. >> taking military action late. republicans were frustrated clinton acted late in the balkans. it's better to do something than nothing at all. >> john mccain could have video roulette. marco rubio, see where the ball lands. >> marco will be fine. >> do i side with israel ? >> marco will be fine. i have confidence he'll be there. >> we'll hold you to it. mike allen, thanks for being

with us. >> we know this. mike allen, mayor of politico still. still ahead on "morning joe," jon stewart returns to "the daily show" after a long hiatus. how his co-workers welcomed him back. johnny manziel's coach comes to his defense after a sideline incident over the weekend. that's pathetic. that's weak. that's next in sports. ready to run your lines? okay, who helps you focus on your recovery? yo, yo, yo. aflac. wow. [ under his breath ] that was horrible. pays you cash when you're sick or hurt? [ japanese accent ] aflac. love it. [ under his breath ] hate it. helps you focus on getting back to normal? [ as a southern belle ] aflac. [ as a cowboy ] aflac. [ sassily ] aflac. uh huh. [ under his breath ] i am so fired. you're on in 5, duck. [ male announcer ] when you're sick or hurt, aflac pays you cash. find out more at aflac.com.

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time to get caught up on sports. this is something we were talking about. here we have texas a&m coach kevin sumlin protecting his quarterback, johnny manziel, heisman trophy winner. some say johnny manziel wasn't responding to him during a chewing out on saturday. coach said he didn't have anything worthy of a response. he said if johnny manziel had responded he would have been punished. johnny manziel hasn't spoken to the media since the ncaa looked at his relationship with memorabilia dealers. joe, you thought -- >> listen. come to the sideline after getting two penalties for

unsportsman like conducts, the coach wants to talk to you, you stop and brush him? i don't know a coach in the part of the country where i grew up where you -- >> i don't have a reason to doubt the cope, but it's hard to reconcile his comment to what we saw, the video . >> someone's dousing water on this. >> he's trying. he wants to do what he can to beat alabama. sometimes it's better as a coach , bench the guy for a couple of weeks. >> as for the rankings the ap poll has changes. clemson surging to the number four. the highest ap ranking in 25 years. when i was in college clemson was good. oregon jumping ohio state, number two. alabama is number one. >> harold, a lot of people saying the s.e.c.'s dominance, look at the first week. there were cracks in the empires, that the death star

isn't the death star. clemson, i'm stunned they beat georgia. they manhandled georgia. almost beat alabama -- >> look at clemson's schedule. >> and alabama, pushed around at times. >> no offense. >> no offense against virginia tech. >> alabama needs offense. you can't rely on special teams and defense alone . clemson looking good. lots of leadership. >> notre dame is not in the top ten but the fighting irish are making headlines. check out the souvenir cups on sale. the team season opener. let's go fig thing. spelling counts. >> big thing. you know what they are doing in south bend? doing the fig thing. >> what is that? >> we have to order those. ebay, coming to ebay. >> really? >> probably. you will pay hundreds for them.

>> somebody from notre dame? i will move my red sox and alabama cup. send me a fig thing cup to "morning joe." we'll put it on. >> notre dame/michigan saturday, two words. go blue. >> how do you spell blue? >> b-l-u-e. >> coming up next, the media miss a crucial issue in the aftermath of the attack in benghazi. they did. that's a topic of the book "under fire." we are talking to the author up next. ahead of friday's squob report, steve gives us a reality check on how things stand in the struggling economy. we'll be right back with more "morning joe."

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♪ welcome back to "morning joe." we were looking for good signs. tell us what happened in the first part of the year as you dig into the numbers. what direction is the economy going? >> we had new numbers the other day. we had a continuation of the slow growth we have seen. what's interesting is to look inside that and what's adding the growth, taking away from growth as the economy tries to get its footing back. 1.8%. of the components of it to show you where it came from. >> 2.1%? >> 1.8 overall growth. 2.1% from consumers. consumers are continuing to spend. they are basically roughly spend ing the same rate as gdp. incomes aren't going up. the savings aren't as high as they should be.

not great news but they are there. then look at business investment. business investment contributed nothing in the first half of the year. it went up, down, but business isn't increasing investment at the moment. we can debate why. >> what does it tell you about the state of the economy? >> that business is worried between what's going on in washington and the fact that consumers are weak. businesses aren't spending a lot of money. housing, however, has come back strongly. >> ex employeding. >> it was 12.7% increase in the first half. housing is a small part of the economy. it doesn't add much to gdp. it's doing well. >> katty would love 2% growth. >> yeah. he could be looking at losing another term if he doesn't manage to turn the british economy around quicker than the american one is. steve, we have seen an emerging market currencies declining rapidly. that's in part because of anxiety about what the fed is doing here with bonds.

what's the knock-on effect if the currencies decline on the u.s. economy? is that a b problem for us or not? >> there are two effects on the u.s. economy. remember the president had a goal of doubling exports over the next few years. that's not happening. the rest of the world is so weak. therefore experts contributed nothing in the first half of the year. if currencies decline they are able to export more. having currencies decline as much as they are. to change the numbers and get gdp up. >> cut taxes in action. >> for washington to get off the dime, provide long-term certainty, a budget package that makes sense and help -- government is now part of the problem, not part of the solution.

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so much to talk about uh today with syria. you're in the middle of it. what are you talking about today? >> we have an interview with the deputy national security adviser from sweden from he's with the president. that will be cool. and the house debate at noon. >> you've obviously been following -- on this beat for a long time. what's your feeling basically about where the house and senate end up now? >> i think they will narrow the resolution but pass it. >> yeah. >> i don't think if they were to defeat it the president can go without congress after making the case for the legitimacy. >> you're right. thank you so much. >> you bet. >> see you at 1:00. i can't wait. up next, chris matthews from "hardball" and chuck todd join the conversation. chuck is live from sweden. we're not sure why he's in sweateswea eden. he's like wall do. well, the president may be there.

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♪ well, finally, they have released absolutely everything ever audio taped during the president nixon administration. we have the latest batch of oh audio tapes. >> this will be interesting. >> this is fascinating. take a close, careful listen to this. roll the tapes. >> march 15, 1974. nixon falls asleep while watching "good times."

>> it all belongs to kid -- dynamite! >> richard nixon, a norman lear production. >> wow. boy, that takes you right there inside the white house. welcome to "morning joe." dan senor is with us and harold ford, jr., and steve ratner. katty kay and robert gibbs with us also. host of "hardball" chris matthews. the president is in sweden. joining us is host of "the daily rundown" chuck todd. we have a 14-minute delay so i will ask you a question and let you go. what is is president hoping to accomplish in sweden and russia and also what message is he going to send back to the united states today trying to get approval for the syria operation?

>> well, he may be overseas. but his comments today about syria, there is a press conference in two hours. it will all be aimed at congress. perhaps more to democratic members of congress as we are watching more high profile republicans get behind the idea of supporting this authorization. he's here in sweden because this was the trip they decided to add after cancelling the summit with putin. we expect the president to respond to putin's interview he did with russia's channel one and the associated press where he claimed like the president did they have plenty of frank discussions. they have big disagreements and aren't afraid to share like they do on syria. you will hear the president. this is a campaign to get support that he's on now. he's here in sweden and just shook hands with mika's brother,

the ambassador here. mark greeted him on the tarmac there. this is all about the president sending a message to congress and congressional democrats. watching what goes on, particularly in the house, there are as many skeptical, maybe more skept call house democrats in my unofficial count than we are seeing on the republican side. you're seeing more and more high profile republicans are going to be there in the end. the question is how many democrats. >> that's fascinating. we are looking at pictures of mark and italia brzezinski, related to mika, who is so concerned about what's going on in syria that she's gone to confer with foreign policy experts in the south of oh france this morning. that's a lie. katty kay now. chuck, stay with us. with the delay, i think it's late august where chuck is. i'll get back to you, chuck. why don't you set up the news for us today, katty?

>> it's thursday. a lot of attention on the house. there is also attention on the senate. a vote could come on strategic strikes in syria. a senate resolution calls for a 60-daytime frame with a one-time 30-day extension. it prohibits the use of ground forces. a similar plan is being pushed in the house. president obama won over many top leaders yesterday by making a case for limited strikes that send a message to the entire region. >> it is limited. it doesn't involve boots on the ground. this is not iraq. this is not afghanistan. >> this 1400, he crossed a line with using chemical weapons. president obama didn't draw the red line. humanity drew it decades ago. >> this is something that the united states, as a country, needs to do. i'm going to support the president's call for action.

i believe my colleagues should support this call for action. we have enemies around the world that need to understand that we are not going to tolerate this type of behavior. >> john boehner there definitely a coup for the white house. selling capitol hill is tougher. secretary of state john kerry was defiant facing off with senators. when kerry speculated about the possibility of send ing in troops to secure chemical weapons he was forced to back pedal. >> i don't think any of us are willing to support the possibility of having combat boots on the ground. >> i don't want anything coming out of this hearing that leaves any door open to anies possibility. so let's shut that door now as tight as we can. >> shutting the door. one of the most heated rounds of questioning came from senator rand paul. >> if the united states of america doesn't do this, senator, is it more or less

likely that assad does it again? do you want to answer that question ? >> i don't think it's known. >> is it more or less likely? >> i think it's unknown whether or not you have the attack. >> it's not unknown. if the united states of america doesn't hold them accountable on this with our allies and friend s, it's a guarantee assad will do it again. a guarantee . i urge you to go to the classified briefing and learn that. the president is asking for the authority to do a limited action. it will degrade the capacity of a tyrant who has been using chemical weapons to kill his own people. >> by doing so, you announce -- >> it's limited. >> by doing so you announce in advance your goal isn't winning. the last 50 years of secretaries of defense would say -- >> senator, when people are asked do you want to go to war in syria, of course not. 100% of americans say no. we say no. we don't want to go to war in

syria either. it's not what we are here to ask. the president is not asking you to go to war. >> senator kerry there not holding back with rand paul suggesting perhaps that he should do a little bit of homework. for her part hillary clinton approves of the president's approach of bringing in congress. joe, that's also important for the white house. >> no doubt about it. let's bring in chris matthews now. one of the things that's usually so predictable. a republican president wants to go to war. the republicans line up and say, yay for our guy, don't you love america, let's go to war. a democrat wants to go to war. in the past it's been democrats lining up. yay i for our guy. what's wrong with the republicans? don't you want to love america? so it's hard to figure out what's going on when dan senor is cheering on dan kerry, when nancy pelosi has to cross a progressive caucus, hispanic

caucus, a lot of the members of the caucuses having reservati reservations. then a fascinating battle between rand paul, john mccain, and marco rubio trying to figure out what he wants to be. the lines are hard to draw. >> you have set the table for eight people here. i will try to take one of them. joe, you have all the erogenous zones of the fight. >> i wouldn't put it that way. >> let's change partners in dance. when you hear barbara boxer you hear jim rand. you have to wonder what they may have said had it been a republican president. clearly people are change ing sides. just like the democrats who supported lyndon johnson after the vietnam war, after it was over they turned on nixon. same people. partisanship shows its ugly head here. you know the situation better than i do, the coraling, final vote in the house. let's go down to the final

stretch here. you have boehner trying to corral enough votes to give out a few of them. pelosi stuck with the challenge of a minority caucus where she has to deliver a majority vote. you're watching boehner there dribbling out a few votes here and there as the clock ticks down to zero. she has to make up the difference. i don't think you have this vote. she will have a super majority of oh democrats. this is a wicked -- she has to meet the standard. i don't know if the president on the south lawn and mcdonough talked about where it will play. the two corrals. i think the democrats will be forced to sacrifice men and women who really don't want to vote for this. they have to vote for it to save the president's hide.

that's a bad position to put your party, i think. >> i think you're right here. robert gibbs, no doubt about it. there are conservatives -- not just conservatives. nancy pelosi admitted people in her district oppose this. go to conservatives that have always been reluctant to go to war. until george w. bush. they are going back to the position where we were against bosnia and kosovo. those people go back to their district. i was in pensacola labor day weekend. man, i didn't meet one person that didn't come up to me, grab my arm and say, what's going on? congressman, what's going on? >> not msnbc viewers? >> i i tried to block the signal. >> i can still go to the coffee cup. i didn't hear one person say,

man, syria, we have to show assad. it is what are we doing there? going to another war? >> i agree with chris. the dynamics inside each caucus is going to be interesting. you have people on each side suddenly want to do less. some that want to do more. i will say this. i would much rather have nancy pelosi, her on my side in this vote than i would john boehner. i think nancy pelosi has the ability to bring people with her. john boehner doesn't have a huge impact on about 90 members of the caucus who are not going to be with her. things like apac are important. no doubt the administration has to continue to make the case not simply to congress but to the outside world and to -- more importantly to america about why it is important to enforce a red

line that, as nancy pelosi said, is not one that was just set by the president. it is an international norm. we have outlawed chemical weapons and their use. we've got to enforce it. we have to. >> chuck, harold ford, really quickly. do you get a sense on the trip that the president understands the magnitude of difference between what he's saying and where the public stands around using a military in syria and if so is there a sense from the senior staff that the president might make a public statement from the oval office to the country to make the case as to why military action is necessary? >> well, i don't know if it's clear if he's going to do oh this from the oval office, when it would be done and those things. the administration looked at one poll question we had. the one they liked. they didn't like our poll numbers, but the one they grabbed was the one that said if

you knew it was going to be very limited, just these cruise missile strikes would you be supportive. a bare majority went from being against the idea to for it. but members of congress have to remember what seemed like a politically correct vote to do in 2002 on the iraq and afghanistan authorization, six years later, for the democrats, frankly for a lot of them, turned out to be a bad vote. you don't know what the long-term re percussions are to the vote. it's interesting. guys with long-term ambitions, i get the sense they are looking at the long terp. if he gets the united states senate he probably wants to be on the fast track to running for national office. writing op-eds to say he's

supportive. i look at the authorization and i wonder how many members of congress are read ing it carefully. there is a phrase the white house wants that jumped out at me talking about the idea of going after state and nonstate actors. you know what they are. it's iran and hezbollah. this could be granting the president more authority an he was talking about. not just going after syria, making it harder for him chemical strikes again. being authorized to go after hezbollah or iran. i'm curious if the members of congress read this authorization carefully. >> chris, it's dan senor. look, a number of house republicans i have spoken to say we don't want to vote for this because we don't trust president obama's execution of it. we may agree we should take action against syria, but we

don't think he'll do enough. how does the president explain to congressional republicans you can support the authorization. you don't have to be responsible for every tactical decision the president makes. your job is oversight. your job is accountability, advocacy. it's not micro management of the war operation. >> you're asking me to do a job i don't believe in. first of all, why would i answer your question? >> to help get the vote passed. >> you are making the argument from the hawkish side of things. i'm not a hawk. i don't want to teach people to be hawks. why are you giving me that job, dan? you do it. >> you would be more effective for getting your president's agenda through. your president wants military alaska. >> you go back and say, this is what we should do. i'm smarter in things and i'm telling you, why should i help you make the case among

right-wing republicans to support a president they hate? >> chris, if i asked you the question would you answer it? >> yes. >> it's tough because there is no answer. this ises fascinating. the conversation we have had this morning. i think we have come to this conclusion. robert b, i will let you in in a minute. what chris said when he wasn't attacking dan also sparked it. >> i'm not attacking him. it's debate. we are allowed to do it on "hardball." we argue. >> we sip tea and have crumpets here. it's a new concept. >> croissant in the morning. >> let me get my point out. it's important, i think. listening to you people talk, it

sounds like at the end of the day unless somebody convinces conservative republicans in the house to support this, even though the constituents don't want it that passing this resolution for the president rests almost squarely on the shoulders of nancy pelosi. how ironic is that? if you want somebody on your side to grab votes it's not john boehner. it's nancy. >> where do you think stark, barbara lee will vote? thai not voting for this involvement in war which, by the way, as we have been talking about involves probably supporting the free syrian army. if you listen to the deal mccain is cutting he wants a more aggressive involvement. >> i think for conservative republicans you've got red lines in syria and likely in iran. this is a vote that will be

heard in tehran and with hezbollah which will make it important for conservative republicans. you mentioned those worried about -- >> the execution. >> -- every tactic of this. for democrats, this is a slim resolution. this is a 60-day resolution with a 30-day extension. this is not 150,000 ground troops. this is not in search of weapons of mass destruction. this is a limited strike against syria. this is t not a ground war, invasion. this is not a war in search of a rationale. >> oh. >> it is -- >> do you believe that? >> from our side it's a pinprick. an assad's side it's an act of war and they will react the way we have to react. we have to react to the use of chemical weapons. they're not going to say, thank

you, i guess that's the end of it. i'm sure the japanese thought one attack would be war. hitler thought attacking poland would be a war. we are taking the move. we are the one who assumes it's the end of the war. no, it's the first battle. this will go on and on. that guy, assad, sees us as the enemy. hezbollah sees us as the enemy. i believe iran says you're going after another shee i can't. we're going to weaponize. >> they have seen us as the enemy for a long time. the u.s. is the enemy, like it or not. do whatever you wanted. the country could convert to islam. they would probably see you as the enemy. we know chemicals have been used. the big concern is this is a strike in search of a strategy. what's going to happen after the missiles are launched? there are too many unanswered questions in terms of retaliation inside and outside

syria. what assad does after that. all of the reasons, the reason the brits were wary, those questions have to be answered and the white house isn't answering sufficiently. >> we don't know what assad will do. >> you have to have a sense they have been addressed. the contingency is there. >> understood. hopefully they are thinking of that. we don't know what they will do. the flip side is if we do nothing what is assad thinking in damascus, hezbollah, iran think about our willingness to engage? >> can i ask a question for chris? >> no. it never ends well . >> one question! >> john kerry asked a question of rand paul. if we don't do anything, do you think it is more or less likely

that bashar assad will use chemical weapons again? >> let me answer it more i imaginatively than the question. >> it was john kerry's question of rand paul. i'm quoting. >> ask any question you want. i didn't know you were the anchor of the show already. let me ask you this. hemingway once said to ava gardner don't confuse the action with motion. if doing something is what we are after, fine. doing something is the answer. if we bomb that country there will be hospital questions for days. we don't know for sure. we don't know te if they will get the message in tehran or if hezbollah will act. for two, three days after we attack there will be hospital pictures, dead people. it will be all over the papers on al jazeera, everywhere. they will say the victims of american aggression. that's a fact. the message is more elusive. i would say not usually a fan of

friedan because he's too fine in his arguments. this time he said, support the free syrian army. at least we are supporting people we believe in. at least supporting something good. by the way, we won't get the assad family, people in the vogue spread. we are not going to get -- >> chris, over 100,000 people are dead. >> we're going to kill people on the night shift just because they are working. >> let's go to chuck todd and ask him a final question. chuck, does the white house believe at this point they have the senate vote and now the game is in the house and the big challenge is getting progressives, members of the congressional black caucus and members of the hispanic caucus who don't want to vote for the resolution on board? >> they know the work is in the house. the senate is a done deal. they feel well past the

filibuster. one thing they were worried about is john mccain and lindsey graham somehow saying this resolution wasn't enough. that he wasn't going to be aggressive enough. the private, one on one meeting the president had with mccain won mccain over. he came out to endorse it. they know how to get to 60 in the senate. what happens in the house and how much does it have to be rewritten? how much does the authorization have to be rewritten? i agree with robert. nancy pelosi, give her a task, tell her you need 160 votes, she'll figure out a way. she may have to rewrite the authorization again. we may not be through the different drafts. >> chuck todd the, we greatly appreciate it. chuck from sweden traveling with the president. chris matthews, always a fascinating discussion with you. you and dan senor both brought grate joy to your respective bases this morning. thank you for that. they and twitter thank you for

that. we'll see you tonight on "hardball" exclusively at 7:00. chris is on fire. turn it on at 7:00. you'll have a great show. still ahead, national security adviser dr. brzezinski with us and author and middle east expert robin wright. first the chairman of the foreign relations committee senator menendez joins us to talk about fireworks yesterday in committee. man: i know the name of eight princesses. i'm on expert on softball. and tea parties. i'll have more awkward conversations than i'm equipped for, because i'm raising two girls on my own. i'll worry about the economy more than a few times before they're grown. but it's for them, so i've found a way. who matters most to you says the most about you. at massmutual we're owned by our policyowners, and they matter most to us. ready to plan for your future?

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i must say this idea that we shou should, quote, do something but not much, that we should not worry. we won't do regime change. it will be short and brief and light but we want to fire a shot across the bow. then he goes off and plays golf. >> proving once again that i'm a

compassionate conservative i waited until we cleared chris matthews s before we showed dod rumsfeld being chris call of the president. we didn't want chris's head to explode. senator bob menendez, a lot of fireworks yesterday. john kerry forgetting he was secretary of state. did a lot of questioning hims f himself. it does seem at the end of the day the resolution that you and bob corker drafted has a good chance of passing the senate. >> it has the input of both sides of the aisle. tries to capture the views reflective of members of the senate. it's tailored, narrow in scope

and breadth and assures no american troops are on the ground. and it has a time limit. at the same time giving the president the wherewithall to punish assad for the use of chemical weapons and send a message. it hits the sweet spot. >> the resolution would allow the president, all the things you said and not require him to have any other international support or other countries on our side. as a member of good foreign policy do you think he should go forward only if he has support and involvement from our allies? >> that's desirable. i would never believe in parsing out our interests to other countries as to their support or not. the secretary of state made it clear there are allies willing to be en gauged in an operation

but that the operation as viewed already has more offerings than our military wants. i think we'll have a coalition here. it will be significant enough as a series of arab countries that make the under pinnings of the action supported more globally and within the region. >> good morning, senator. do you think it's imperative for the president to make up this morning or do you think it will ask the president, will you ask the president to make a public statement from the white house to the country explaining why this is necessary, explaining the resolution in light of the fact 60% of the country are opposed to the strikes. >> i believe he will do that. probably later this week. i think it is important for him to do so.

i voted against it. i have been for accelerated draw down in afghanistan. i don't come to the conclusion of military force lightly. i i understand the consequences to national security of inaction. i think the president needs to sit in the oval office, look at every american in the eye and explain the reason why this is important. i think he'll do it. >> the battle lines were drawn in committee during this exchange between john kerry and republican senator rand paul. take a look. >> if the united states of america doesn't do this, senator, is it more or less likely that assad does it again? >> i don't think it's known. >> is it more or less likely? >> i think it's unknown whether or not you have the attack. >> it's not unknown. if the united states of america doesn't hold them accountable on this with our allies and friend s, it's a guarantee assad will do it again. a guarantee . i urge you to go to the

classified briefing and learn that. the president is asking for the authority to do a limited action. it will degrade the capacity of a tyrant who has been using chemical weapons to kill his own people. >> by doing so, you announce -- >> it's limited. >> by doing so you announce in advance your goal isn't winning. the last 50 years of secretaries of defense would say -- >> senator, when people are asked do you want to go to war in syria, of course not. 100% of americans say no. we say no. we don't want to go to war in syria either. it's not what we are here to ask. the president is not asking you to go to war. >> senator kerry there giving rand paul a hard time suggesting perhaps he ego do a bit more homework. senator menendez, i have a question for you. we seem to be in a position where we may launch strikes because the risk of not acting is greater than acting.

in your conversations with the white house, how much have you heard about what happens after the strikes in the days and weeks after the strikes what is the u.s. doing to prepare for any possible contingency in terms of retaliation or oh more chemical attacks? >> we envisioned that by the resolution in which we give the president authorization for the first 60 days which he has under the war powers act anyway. we felt limiting him wasn't right. and then 30 days if he sees it necessary to do so. we call for a broader serious strategy in the resolution which the president must admit to congress 30 dais after the resolution is passed. that has all the different elements oh of political military, humanitarian and otherwise. i think the administration and members asked questions in both

public and briefings about the follow-on. i think there's been a significant amount of planning, thinking about what are the consequences. hopefully by punishing assad and using chemical weapons again there is a consequence to his overall ability. that may push us closer to what we wanted to see in geneva which is a neg united nations that changes the reality in syria and permits a tran stigsal government. that's the desired goal. we'll see . >> chairman, thank you so much. appreciate you being here. >> good to be with you. >> coming up, the untold story from attacks in benghazi. how the media missed a crucial part of the story. the authors of a new book "under fire." a lot more ahead when "morning joe" returns.

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still ahead, after a long summer absence, jon stewart finally makes his return to "the daily show." we'll show you uh how he was welcomed back. you will want to watch that. first co-authors of the book "under fire, the untold story of

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sfx: birds chirping sfx: birds chirping the committee's labors to uncover what happened prior, during and after the attack matter. it matters to me personally. and it matters to my colleagues. it matters to the american public for whom we serve. and most importantly -- excuse me. it matters to the friends and family of -- of ambassador stevens, sean smith, glen dougherty and tyrone woods who were murdered on september 11,

2012. >> many whistleblowers testified on the attack on the u.s. kons gnat in benghazi in 2012. with us now vice president of intelligence and counter terrorism terrorism, fred burton and middle east security expert samuel katz, co-authors of "under fire, the unfold story of the attack in benghazi." there's been such partisan rancor over this from the very beginning both sides seemed to go to their respective corners. we heard about a florida preacher and a videotape. we heard about a lot of things. hillary clinton being angry at a committee hearing going, what does it matter? you did a lot of research. what happened in benghazi does matter. because it looks like it could happen again, right?

>> it could happen tomorrow, especially with everybody ramping up the rhetoric over a possible military strike. >> why was the state department security so poor in benghazi the night these americans died? >> it's difficult to say it was poor. benghazi was a new post. libya was a new post. gadhafi's down fall. there wasn't time for the security infrastructure in place after the beirut bombings. things were done on the fly so things were lacking. >> chris stevens, very concerned. sent warnings about poor security there. >> as the chief of mission he was ultimately the person responsible for the security of all americans on post including his own safety. >> the book says the untold story of the attack in benghazi. what are people going to learn that they don't yet know about the attack?

>> joe, i'm a former special agent with diplomatic security service. one thing sam and i wanted to highlight was the sheer courage and heroism of five agents doing the best job they could. under very difficult circumstances. we felt it was lost due to the nasty politics in washington surrounding this event. >> so give us an example of what happened that americans need to know. >> the agents heroically went in and out of the burning building without smoke hoods or any kind of breathing apparatus or fire suppression equipment. several occasions to try to rescue ambassador stevens as well as sean smith. unfortunately both were overcome by smoke inhalation and perished. their efforts were just remarkable. it shows you the kind of people that the state department have and have historically always had

going back to saigon in '68 when the em ba si was overran and islamabad, pakistan in 1979. >> we don't have the security at outposts around the world we should have to keep our state department officials safe. >> how much is ever enough? we only discussed diplomatic security when there are dead bodies on the ground. congressional panels that met and were engaged in rhetoric and fire branding never discussed security requirements before something happens. >> before the next benghazi happens do we have enough security at em ba bassies aroune world? >> there were steps after benghazi to identify critical posts. but the fact that terrorists look for soft targets is important to realize. it doesn't have to be in africa or the middle east. it could be in europe. the buenos aires embassy was

bombed. that was considered low threat. >> in light of the comment we saw a dozen or so if not more embassies closed across the middle east with heightened threat alerts. should we expect more in term light of the contact that we can't know if enough is enough? it could be any of the part world. >> there was a specific threat that said these em ba sis might be threatened. it was a prudent move to mitigate the loss if there was an attack to get as many americans out of the embassy as possible. it is a chess maetch. the rancor was why did this happen? benghazi? well, terrorism happens. it is always a move and counter move. sometimes when they identify a weakness or in benghazi, as we say in the book when there is a perfect storm of circumstances that bring about a u.s.

ambassador in a city void of law and order you have catastrophes happen. >> you say it was a perfect storm. there were warnings -- it sounds like you're suggesting here that the state department did nothing wrong. >> i'm not suggesting that in the least. in the book, we interview a former agent who was a security officer in beirut on a temporary assignment in 1975, and when the embassy was under attack and diplomats were being shot at, he sent a cable to washington too s say, i can't hold on to washington, it's unsafe. this said, we're here for a higher purpose. >> i know diplomats are sometimes weary of security. i grew up in the middle east in embassies. my dad was saying if there's too much security, it makes us harder sometimes for us to do our job of reaching out to

people. i've heard american diplomats say exactly the same thing. but the intelligence piece of this is so interesting, because there was such clear signs in the run-up to these attacks. you can debate security, and how much is right or wrong, but it does seem there is a clear case of an intelligence failure of what was happening in benghazi in the months before the attack and how the city was changing. >> you're absolutely correct. having looks at countless threat reports and investigated numerous attacks on u.s. diplomatic personnel historically, one thing that always comes into play whenever you do these investigations, for example, i investigated the last u.s. ambassador killed in the line of duty which was the ambassador who perished aboard the plane crash that went down that killed president zia of pakistan. there's always information that surfaces during the course of the investigation that you don't have access to or is not important at that moment in

time. it's only the benefit of hindsight that that tactical nugget become critical. but to your point, there was enough intelligence there. it was like the frog boiling in the pot. there's a threat fatigue, joe, that sets in when you're doing this job. >> yeah. >> it's the day to day grind. it's just another threat. that's how it's treated. it's just another day. you combine that with temporary agents thrown on a protective detail in a very hostile environment. and it's a recipe made for disaster. having said that, the agents did a remarkable job -- >> remarkable job, yeah. all right, hey, smart man, bringing along an alabama guy to help you out. >> i try. >> all right. the book is -- well done. roll tide. >> roll tide. >> the book is "the untold story of the attack in ben gaez." thank you so much. i know the families of those who

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jon is back. hey, ste-beef. hey. >> hey, what's up?

>> that's nice. [ speaking for language ] >> no, no. how you doing? >> it's my john, it's my john oliver. >> oh, no. >> mush mushka. >> for sure. oh [ bleep ] >> i got here as soon as i could. >> thanks very much, appreciate it. >> i'm going in there and i'm going to break this man. no matter what you hear, no matter what you hear, i need you to promise me, you will not go in that door. >> promise, done. >> oh, my god! i did what i could. >> thanks. >> let's do this. >> all right. a lot to talk about in the next

hour. we're going to be having a live press conference with president obama, who's stopping in sweden this morning on his way to russia's g-20 summit. obviously, syria is going to be front and center. still ahead, the showdown in syria. will congress give the president the green light to use military force and will nancy pelosi, one of the most progressive speakers in the history of this country, be responsible for taking america to war? discover card. how can i help you? oh, you're real? you know i'm real! at discover, we're always here to talk. good, 'cause i don't have time for machines. some companies just don't appreciate the power of conversation! you know, i like you! i like you too! at discover, we treat you like you'd treat you. get the it card and talk to a real person.

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after careful deliberation, i have decided that the united states should take military action against syrian regime targets. >> wow, america taking military action against the middle east regime. it's like i never left. so what has brought the president to this decision? >> 50 tons of mustard gas in a turkey farm. >> that's the wrong president. that's the wrong president. and that is a different country. >> leave kuwait or be driven out. >> okay, that is the same country and family, but that's a slightly different war. >> today, we celebrate our independent day! >> that is a fictional president and to be fair, that war was pretty justified. >> good morning, it's 8:00 a.m. on the east coast, 5:00 a.m. on the west coast. a live look at new york city. harold's sitting here smiling, thinking if it's 5:00 a.m. on

the west coast, why are you up? >> it's 8:00 here. >> there you go. good math there. good man. harold ford jr. with us doing math. also, dan senor, steve rattner, katty kay. andrea mitchell. >> there was big news overnight. castro of course is the man who was sentenced to life in prison, plus 1,000 years, after pleading guilty to imprisoning and raping three women over the course of a decade. let's get a report now. >> i'm near the place where ariel castro's home once stood. we're here because this morning, breaking news, ariel castro is dead. he hanged himself last night in his prison in southern ohio. in the town of orient. that's where he was being held. he was taken up to the ohio university medical center where he died of his injuries shortly

before 11:00 last night. castro was being sentenced for 1,000 years for the capture of those three women he raped and tortured on cleveland's west side. back to you. >> gruesome story just got more gruesome. lord knows what those poor women are think as they wake up to this news this morning. the big news yesterday, syria, the president and the international community at large are keeping tabs on washington where a vote could come today on strategic strikes in syria. a senate resolution calls for a 60-day time frame with a one-time 30-day extension. however, it prohibits the use of ground forces. a similar plan is being pushed in the plan. president obama won over many top leaders yesterday by making a case for limited strikes that send a message to the entire region. >> it is limited. it does not involve boots on the ground. this is not iraq and this is not afghanistan. >> this 1,400, he crossinged a line with using chemical

weapons. president obama did not draw the red line. humanity drew it decades ago. >> this is something that the united states as a country needs to do. i'm going to support the president's call for action. i believe my colleagues should support this call for action. we have enemies around the world that need to understand that we're not going to tolerate this type of behavior. >> okay. the white house very happy to get john boehner on board there. those leaders supporting it but selling the plan on capitol hill is proving tougher. secretary of state kerry was defiant as he faced off with skeptical senators. when kerry speculated about the possibility of sending in troops to secure chemical weapons, if syria deteriorated, he was quickly forced to back pedal. >> i don't think there are any of us here who are willing to support the possibility of having combat boots on the ground.

>> i don't want anything coming out of this hearing that leaves any door open to any possibility. let's shut that door now as tight as we can. >> shutting the the door. one of the most heated rounds of questioning came with senator rand paul. >> if the united states of america doesn't do this, senator, is it more or less likely that assad does it again? you want to answer that question? >> i don't think it's known. >> is it more or less likely that he does it again? >> i think it's unknown -- >> it's unknown -- >> -- whether you have the attack -- >> senator, it's not unknown. if the united states of america doesn't hold him accountable on this with our allies, it's a guarantee assad will do it again. guarantee. and i urge you to go to the classified briefing and learn that. the president is asking for the authority to do a limited action. that will degrade the capacity of a tyrant who has been using

chemical weapons to kill his own people. >> i think by doing so -- >> it's a limited -- it's limited -- >> by doing so you announce in advance your goal is not winning and i think the last 50 years of secretaries of defense would say if your goal -- >> nor, when people are asked when you want to go to war in syria, of course not. 100% of americans will say no. we say no. we don't want to go to war in syria either. it's not what we're here to ask. the president is not asking you to go to war. >> a lively back and forth there with rand paul. getting a bit of ticking off from secretary of state. the former secretary of state hillary clinton says she approves of the president's approach of bringing in congress. a lively day up there on capitol hill. of course we still have, what, four or five more days before we even have the congress back from recess. >> i've got to say john kerry is a unique witness for the committee. he asks the questions. and makes -- >> well, he was the chairman of the committee. >> -- he's no longer the -- >> i understand, but all the

world's a stage. he just doesn't realize he's moved on to a different part. robert gibbs, jon stewart off the top talking about being away and it's like nothing ever changes. how strange it does seem to look and see nancy pelosi and barack obama leading the charge for another u.s. military attack against a muslim country. things have changed, haven't they? >> well, but let's be clear here, joe, because i think the analogy -- you see this in columns today, the analogy that syria is iraq. other than being in the same region of the world, i think that is probably where the similarities end. we're not searching for weapons of mass destruction in iraq. we know that weapons of mass destruction have been used. i think nancy pelosi put it well for the world, which is we're not enforcing a red line simply drawn by a president.

we're enforcing a norm that has been part of international relation, fs for almost 100 yea. that is the prohibition on the use of chemical weapons. it is a horrible atrocity when they're used in war. it is mind-boggling to say the least when someone uses them on their own people. and that, i think, is what the case that this white house will continue to make on why acting now in syria, in a limited fashion, is so important. >> well, there are obviously those that would disagree with you, that that's sufficient legally under international law to go to war. and others have used chemical weapons. but we are where we are -- >> not in 25 years, joe, not in 25 years. >> but we are where we are. robert, as somebody that advised the president on communication and many things for many years,

don't you think it's really important for him to get out in front and talk to the american people? and explain why syria's not going to be afghanistan. why syria's not going to be iraq. i know the man is subtle to a fault. and sometimes he just wants to stand there and have people believe in the goodness of barack obama. in this case, don't you think he needs to connect the dots and explain exactly what this attack will be and what it will not be? >> i think you have to do two things. i think obviously they're playing an inside game in trying to convince congress. no doubt, they had a good day yesterday with the leadership in the house on both the democratic and republican side, which is tremendously important. i think as they play that inside game, as you said, very imperative for them to play an outside game. i think not simply to explain why this strike will be limited. to reiterate why this isn't iraq or afghanistan with boots on the ground. it's not a long-term commitment.

you see the resolution curtails the days of the action. i think also, i think going back and talking to the american people about the images that we saw and the step over that line that assad took in using chemical weapons and reminding people why we're at this point. and what we're trying to enforce. i think all of that, and i think you'll see the white house do that. >> katty, if you look at new polling that's out, it seems pretty obvious the white house does need to get the president out there and explain the importance of larunching these attacks. >> even if he does get out there, whether it changes public opinion. in the uk, public opinion hasn't shifted in favor of strikes. there's a new poll that shows most americans, 59%, are opposed to any strikes on syria. when asked how they would feel in allies like france and great britain were involved, the gap

does narrow to 51 to 46. >> andrea. >> and, you know, support does not exist for this. they have to build it. you're right, the president has to speak. i think they have to also get past the bungling last week. the fact that the president was so ambivalent but didn't even communicate that to his secretary of state. the vice president gave a passionate speech last wednesday to the american legion. kerry spoke twice. friday, he spoke coming out of a session of the national security council, you know, sent out by the president to give an emphatic call to arms and to declassify the intelligence critically. that's the pen ultimate step. that's what you do right before you send the missiles flying. that's not what you do a week or two before. my friend here, robert gibb, talked about the sequencing on "meet the press." he was being, i think, very careful in signaling it was not

the way you would have ordered it up. right next to me here. the fact is is now they are where they are. and i think kerry -- you talked about how dominating he was yesterday -- he took over that hearing. john mccain, when he wasn't playing iphone poker, tried to push him back and was withering in his questioning. rand paul i think most people thought was posturing. i covered that whole hearing. marco rubio signaled he has real concerns, you know, what happened to the 100,000-plus people who died not from chemical weapons. why was the line drawn where it was. and what is the difference there. so they had a lot of question ofs. especially from those who might want to run for president. i think overall they came out of the senate pretty well. now the real question's going to be today in the house. >> some real posing going on in those hearings yesterday. people setting up for iowa in 2016. dan senor, you'll probably be in iowa with somebody.

you'll find somebody and you'll be there. but you're not there now so i'm going to nail you to the wall and i actually think i know where you're going to be. so let's talk about the house. there are a lot of conservatives in the house that are very concerned about this operation. and if i were still a member of the house and the white house said, hey, we need you -- okay, so this is how you feel today, right? 'cause i'm not sure how you felt last week. because you had joe biden, very impassioned, going out, making a plea. then you had john kerry. and then you undercutting. then you say you're going to do it. then you decided the man who says everything's too important to wait for congress when it companies to appointing people or passing legislation says, on this issue, i'm going to wait for congress. and then you get the chairman of the joint chiefs going out there saying, you know what, we can attack now. we can attack later. it doesn't really matter. and while that's happening, we have intel from the ground and

cvs news and others reporting that assad's moving all of his important assets to suburban neighborhoods where we're never going to strike. and this president is just taking his time. so why should i say, yeah, let's go in to yet another muslim country and have the rest of the weeken hate us even more, when there's no way this is going to be effective militarily, because the president has dithered for so long? >> so the bumbling of the sequencing, which i agree with him. look at many more examples. david cameron and the uk debate. secretary kerry is calling his peers around the world saying, military action's imminent. cameron goes to it is house floor, the parliamentary floor. if he knew he had another week or two, had he known that congress was going to be debating this, would he have used that time to get his house

in order? >> let katty answer that. the answer's no, isn't it? >> i don't think it would have changed much minds in london. my sense is lawmakers decided they did not want to get invoved in another middle east operation when the outcome wasn't certain and the track record of the west getting involved in the arab world has not been that great. -- with an american operation -- >> you can't blame the white house for cameron's failures -- >> for god sake, okay, they're british. okay, they don't have the resolve of the french. the french are with us! come on. when have the british ever been side by side with us in a war? >> i'm simply saying, katty -- >> let's listen. let's talks about the president of the united states. tell the conservative member of congress why they should support this. >> i would say i am as frustrated as any typical house

republican is -- >> why should i support it? >> guess what, at the end of the day, right now, you are expressing a frustrated sentiment. a sentiment is not a policy. we have a policy debate right now about what to do about a rogue nation that is bogged down in a civil war that is experimenting with chemical weapons. has the united states of america -- forget about the president drew the red line or not. imagine the president didn't draw the red line -- >> by the way, let's just -- yeah, the red line has been there for quite some time. and president obama was not the first to draw it. >> by the way, when the president did draw it, it's not like congressional republicans were opposed to it. no congressional republican is saying don't draw that red line. they were never criticizing president obama for doing too much. they were criticizing him for doing too little. now he wants to do something. >> what does it do? assad's moved all of his assets into suburban neighborhoods now. the president said the attack is coming. >> soon. >> what does it do? >> right. so here's the threshold question

that congressional republicans should ask. do they believe the military operation the president is going to take will have the effect of degrading bashar assad's military? >> what's the end? >> seriously damage air capabilities -- >> destroy air bases, military -- >> air bases. it would dramatically degrade syria's military. >> steve rattner. >> there are things we can do that would militarily have an effect on assad. beyond that, we drew a red line. we said this was a nonstarter. now we need to do something militarily to address this issue with assad. >> coming up next on "morning joe," former national security adviser dr. brzezinski will be with us along with author and middle east expert robin right. a new republic cover story looks at how our schools are failing the nonconformist kids.

those are big words to use for troublemakers. that's what mom called me. first, here's dylan dryer. she has a check on the forecast. >> looking nice out there now, temperatures in the 50s and 50s across much of the country. dew point temperatures in the mid-50s. indicates the air is nice and dry. a little more fall-like. nice and crisp out there. highs about 80 or so in boston. we're looking at 99 degrees in dallas. things are mainly quiet. besides a couple scattered showers and storms that could be severe, especially the interior pacific northwest. but elsewhere not really a whole lot going on. same goes for the tropics where we have just a 20% chance of this developing into a tropical storm near the bay of campeche and also out a little bit further about a 30% chance of seeing some development with that system. your forecast for today look, nice across the country. just a couple of scattered storms. same story for tomorrow. 69 degrees for a high in boston.

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some have tried to suggest the debate we're having today is about president obama's red line. i could not more forcefully state that is just plain and

simply wrong. this debate is about the world's red line. it's about humanity's red line. it is a red line that anyone with a conscious ought to draw. >> with us now, from washington, d.c., former national security adviser for president carter, author of strategic vision, america and the crisis of global power. dr. brie skzezinski. also with us, robin right. we have steve rattner, harold ford jr. and thomas roberts as well. dr. brzezinski wrote this, the steps that obama must now take on syria, the repugnant moral crime perpetuated against his fellow people. first, to mobilize global

opinion against an increasingly destructive sectarian war in syria. second, to seek broader international participation in a more comprehensive effort to prevent a regionwide explosion. dr. brzezinski, how is the president doing in following these steps? >> i think he's off to a reasonably good start. it's quite clear that he has been skillful in dealing with congressional leadership. and i think he'll have wide-ranging american support for the military action that he's not only contemplating but intending to undertake. but in doing so, i think we have to be guided by three sort of broad principles. because our policy to now has been strategically extremely unclear. one, we have to make certain that by military participating, we do not create circumstances in which the principal beneficiaries are those elements that oppose assad, but which are

extremely hostile to the united states. that will be extremely damaging. secondly, we have to make certain that in our actions, we don't create the impression that we're colliding with the entire muslim world and with the sensitivities of the middle eastern muslims. and that pertains to the risk that our actions could be seen as part a coalition of former imperial or colonial powers in the region. france, britain, turkey. conceivably even some circumstances israel. fourth and third, we have to have some sort of diplomatic concept of how we operate in order to avoid an explosion in the region. and that means reaching out to asian countries, reaching out to the newly elected democratic president of iran. this may be difficult for some to swallow but that's important. and seeking to reengage russia in a somewhat more constructive

participation in the region. if he does all of these things, he'll redeem what perhaps was jeopardized over the last two years. >> robin wright, the president has said assad must go. just like he said mubarak must go. just like he said gadhafi must go. change in the middle east has not always brought about what the united states has wanted. whether it's a democratic election that led to hamas or the chaos in egypt. what follows assad in syria, if anybody followed assad in syria? >> my biggest concern is we're not focusing enough time on the weeks and months that follow any kind of military strike. that in many ways the big question is what then. because the united states is vulnerable to blame for whatever happens next once it strikes. either through action or inaction. and it's tremendously important to set in place a sequence of

events that deal with not just the use of chemical weapons but also the world's worst humanitarian crisis. one of the world's most horrific conflicts. and outlining of kinds of things that the united states has to consider in terms of making this not just a tactical victory but a strategic plan that actually deals with these broader questions. because what's happening in syria is in many ways related to what's happening in egypt, in libya, tunisia and elsewhere. we can't look at it simply as an isolated case. egypt at the moment is in a terrible bind. the regime is sweeping up arrests. trying people in very rapid trials. that we have to have a plan for how to foster the democratic spirit that was born 2 1/2 years ago. i have a feeling that's where we're really limited. >> harold ford is here.

dr. brie skzezinskbrzezinski, h question. >> your foiirst point, global opinion. the brits have decided not to join us. what impact does that have short term, long term? it's been contemplated this morning what might be the reaction of the syrians to limited or broader air strike or military strike. whatever composition is might take from us. whenever it might happen. >> i don't think the strike is going to bring the war to an end. but the syrians i think are going to be restrained insofar as chemical weapons are used. assuming that our strike within a week or so is going to be effective. i suspect it will be effective. i think we're going to concentrate on degrading their capability for a complete performance. so i think the issue we have to understand here is a stalemate is actually in our interest. not a victory for assad obviously because we're -- but also not victory for opponents because most of them are against

us. we can create a stalemate. we can proceed to next phase, which is what my colleague here was just talking about very eloquently and perceptively. we have to have a wider initiative. i have confidence in john kerry. his performance over last two weeks has been stunningly impressive. we have a secretary of state who is really in charge of what's happening. who knows what needs to be done. is providing a rhetorical as well as a practical leadership that is so important in these complicated days. >> you know, it's interesting whenever dr. brzezinski says stunningly. >> calls him stunningly superficial. >> but you said stunningly and everybody turned to me and waited for me to flinch. john kerry, yesterday, in the

hearing, absolutely strong and in command. >> very strong. i wanted to pick up because you had said something that the white house will not say. that there was a military coup or is a military coup taking place in egypt. you also said action or inaction is the biggest problem. the inaction has led to the humanitarian crisis that we see in syria, with millions of people flooding over the borders into lebanon, turkey. at this point of inaction, what is the best international effort to be done to help with the humanitarian crisis? because not everybody debates about bombing syria. there are millions of human beings that are flooding over the syrian borders and other countries. these countries don't know what to do in terms of how to take them and best help them. meanwhile, we have this crisis that persists without any discussion about what to do for these people. >> clearly, we have the means in the international community to try to help short term with humanitarian crisis.

the fact its scope grows by every single hour indicates one of the real urgencies of trying to come up with resolution. there are even bigger questions we have to begin thinking about. as this region is destabilized by what's happening in syria. as the sen trif call forces of ethnic and sectarian divides really begin to fray at what is a country that is a strategic center of the middle east, we have to wonder whether syria can hold together at all. whether it's the tens of thousands of kurds that are fleeing from syria into iraqi kurdistan and whether that begins to form in the same way. whether the sunni heartland in syria begins to identify increasingly with the sunnises in iraq. and the border between these two countries is really beginning to fray as well. there are such huge questions when it talks about what we have to face and these are the things that we all need to think about.

in the coming days. to really be effective in dealing with humanitarian crisis. in dealing with bashar al assad. because his staying in power is not a solution. clearly the opposition is not completely on our side. clearly we have to worry. we have to worry about even bigger questions than that. >> i have a recollection, if i get it wrong, you can correct me, that you said something very pithy that caught my ear a couple months ago, where you said syrias not a struggle for democracy, it was a struggle for power. i think implied we should stay out. that we didn't really have a dog in the fight. feels like you've shifted over last few weeks. >> no, i haven't shifted. the situation has shifted. that is to say a huge crime was committed. the president was on record saying that we would respond to it. and that obviously effects how american foreign policy is to be predicted. the prescriptions which i have just mentioned are derived from the president's situation. i wish we had avoided going in.

i was skeptical from the very beginning whether this was a struggle for democracy. i felt this was a sectarian conflict conducted unilaterally by two not particularly democratic middle eastern states. and with some strange degree of accommodation, acquiescence to it by the united states. but we are where we are. now we have to make sure the stalemate does not result in a victory for one side so we have to be very measured in our military callu k euless. we have to do it, robin so delicately described, important aspect of an initiative. mount the effort for the region and particularly for syria. >> steve rattner, i thought your interpretation of dr dr. brzezinski's words over the past couple months, stunningly superficial, i'm disappointed

you went there. you are talking to a man who has been described as one of the greatest geopolitical thinkers. if you don't believe that, we're going to be having as a guest in the coming week, a new book, "strategy and state craft of the big brzezinski." that is coming up. thanks for being with us. robin, thank you, appreciate your insights. >> thank you. >> good to be with you. >> all right, thank you. steve what do you have to say for yourself? you're wrenching his words from the proper context and it makes me sad. >> that's different than saying i misquoted him. >> that's why he's dr. brzezinski. president obama is going to be holding a live joint press conference with the prime minister of sweden. we're going to keep it all in the family here. of course, mark brzezinski, the ambassador of sweden. also ahead, the new republic's

new cover story on -- i love this cover. on why the rise of adhd might be a sign of our failing schools. they say in defense of the wild child. fascinating story. talking about how schools can't handle nonconformists like steve jobs. we'll be right back. for your first day? yeah. ♪ dad: you'll be fine, ok? girl: ok. dad: you look so pretty. ♪ i'm overprotective. that's why i got a subaru. love. it's what makes a subaru, a subaru.

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with us now from washington, editor of the new republic, frank foer. the wild child and how american schools are failing nonconfirmist kids. this is a great -- lovely cover. >> got it in the mail the other day, love it. >> let's look back through our recent history and not so recent history, frank. steve jobs. dropout. bill gates. dropout. >> right. >> henry ford, by all accounts, an uneducated man. and of course my parents would always tell their friends at bridge games when joey's ds came out, well, you know, albert einstein didn't do well at school. do schools fail nonconfirmist, quoting jobs, the crazy one, the ones who think different? >> right. >> how do we figure out how

to -- how to mold these kids without just shoving pills down their throats? >> right. the paradigm -- we're talking about not just troublemakers. we're talking about normal kids who behave like kids. our schools have a time honored method of dealing with them. there was discipline. your kids write 100 times on the board. you punish them if they acted up and they got the message. but now the expectations in schools have changed completely. we expect our kids to have something called self-regulation. that they're supposed to have this little minder inside their heads that tells them how to behave. a lot of curriculum in schools has been shifted towards teaching this self-regulation. and so a lot of schools have these morning meetings where kids assemble and they talk about things. they're supposed to talk their problems out. the teachers aren't supposed to intervene when kids are fighting. they're sent to the peace table

or the peace roses to work things out. >> you're making me tired. i mean, you know, i got the ruler on the wrist. >> yeah, exactly. >> we had nuns. i was lucky enough to be left handed and they didn't beat you at that point and call you the devil child. >> i can't imagine you ever misbehaved at school. unimaginable to think you were not the perfect young student. >> i got to tell you, frank, a generation before, you know, if i were my son's age, then there would obviously be teachers or child psychiatrists saying, give joey medicine. i mean, they said that about both of my boys. and it sees like they wanted to squeeze out the life out of them. very creative impulse that made them a little off. i mean, they aren't off. >> understanding that kids will sometimes be kids it we pathologize them. we send them to occupational therapy is a big rage right now. where kids are essentially taught to sit still or we say they have adhd or we give them

pills. >> frank, this is thomas. what are the social and behavioral norms? as joe is talking about with his two boys growing up, what are the expectation, to best parent? we have different family structures now. with how parents are dealing with their children. we have stay at home dads with moms that are working full time. or the reverse. or two parent families that are working. so what are the social and behavioral norms if you take that product, you know, the drugs out of a wild child? >> so i guess what the author in this piece is arguing is not what we abandon drugs or we abandon some of these other therapies that are necessary, but it's that we create different environments in schools where we don't simply stigmatize kids who act out. a lot of it has to do with expectations. and norms that we create in schools. the new norm for the kids in school is they have grit. they have self-awareness.

they have this capacity to regulate their emotions. and so we should aspire for our kids to have that. but we should also understand they're kids. sometimes kids aren't capable of living up to their standards. >> they need to learn how to adapt. >> are there policy implications for this? if you were to be talking about this issue with peep in the education policy space, what are the prescriptions? either the local level or even beyond that? >> there's a context in which a lot of these changes are happening. which is no child left behind and budget cuts in schools. and so in this type of environment, there is a necessity to have kids who behave in a certain sort of way, a certain well regulated way in order to prepare for these tests. i do think this is a piece with the extreme emphasis on testing in a lot of public schools. there are -- in a lot of the reconsideration of no child left behind in this next wave of education reform, that there are

prescriptions that would help correct for some of this problem. >> if you haven't looked at the new republic lately, you really need to. i get it at my home. it is a new magazine. an old magazine. it's got great writing. visually. and you're really starting to see it come out in this issue. it's just a great -- >> that's what happens to the wild child. you go off to the island to be a lost boy. >> actually, this is what happens to msnbc hosts when they retire. >> right there. thomas. i'd be very happy to be there. >> joe, you subscribe, you get it at home. >> you know what, i always -- i mean, i've got it for years at home. i've always said i know what i believe. i want to know what frank ford believes. you're doing a great job there.

>> thanks, man. >> arsenal. >> guess what, you cheer for, like, you know, you got a different team in every country so yeah, you pick up something at arsenal. >> i'm a cosmopolitan. >> but real, sorry about that. thanks so much though. the cover story is "how american schools are failing nonconfirmist kids." in just a few minute, the president's going to be holding a press conference for the prime minister of sweden. we're going to be covering it. we'll be right back with a big announcement from apple on their new iphone. [ male announcer ] these days, a small business can save by sharing.

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you're going to choke on your weapons of mass destruction. liz cheney. >> liz? i'm a huge liz fan. >> she's like a neo con. she's from your camp. >> she's terrific. >> liz cheney told a tea party crowd, according to jackson hole news and guide, speaking to an enthrallled crowd of 150 jackson hole tea party members tuesday night in her first public appearance in the county, cheney said she would not support action against syria. the tea party, 1. dan senor, nothing. what a shock. >> i have great respect for liz. i disagree with her on this. the big question, joe, will any kind of operation against assad weaken him? i believe yes. that's my message to liz. >> liz i'm sure -- >> you can't reconcile this with everything her father -- >> we're going to continue this

later. let's go right now to president obama. he is in sweden. >> it's only been a short time but i want to thank all the people here for the warm hospitality that's been extended to me and my delegation. it is spectacularly beautiful. the prime minister tells me that the weather is like this year round. and so like so many who have come here, i feel stockholm in my heart and i'll want to bring back my family to visit some time in the future. i've said before it's no accident that democracies are america's closest partners. that includes sweden. that's why i'm here today. as free peoples, we recognize democracy is the most effective form of government ever devised for delivering progress and opportunity and prosperity. and freedom to people. and it's two of the most

innovative economies on earth. we cherish that freedom that allow us to innovate and create which is why we're leaders in science and research and development. those things that pioneered new industries and broaden our horizons. we share a belief in the dignity and the quality of every human being. that our daughters deserve the same opportunities as our friends. that our gay and lesbian brothers and sisters must be treated equally under the law. that our societies are strengthened and not weakened by diversity. and we stand up for university human rights. not only in america and europe but beyond. because we believe that when these rights are respected, nations are more successful. and our world is safer. and more just. so i want to thank sweden and the swedish people for being such strong partners in pursuit of these values that we share. the partnership is rooted in deep friendship but was also

mentioned, we have very strong people to people ties. my own town of chicago has a lot of people of swedish descent. vice president biden was honored to welcome king gusaf and queen silva to washington to honor the anniversary and i look forward to visiting the king and queen tomorrow. i should mention on behalf of hockey fans, how grateful our championship black hahawks are several teammates who come from sweden. i had a chance to visit with prime minister reinfeldt in the white house during my first year in office. he has always proved to be a thoughtful and deliberative partner on a whole host of international issues. and i'm pleased that we've been

able to strengthen that partnership in our discussions here today. we of course discussed the appalling violence being inflicted on the american people by the assad regime. the prime minister and i are in agreement that in the face of such barbarism, the international community cannot be silent, and that failing to respond to this attack would only increase the risk more attacks, and the possibility that other countries would use these weapons as well. i respect, and i've said this to the prime minister, the u.n. process. obviously, the u.n. investigation team has done heroic work under very difficult circumstances. but we believe very strongly with high confidence that, in fact, chemical weapons were used. and that mr. assad was the source. and we want to join with the

international community in an effective response that deters such use in the future. so i updated the prime minister on our efforts to secure congressional authorization for taking action. as well as our effort to continue to build international support for holding the assad regime accountable in order to deter these kinds of attacks in the future. we also discussed our broader strategy. the united states and sweden are both major donors of humanitarian assistance to the syrian people. we will continue those efforts. we're going to continue to try to strengthen the capabilities of an inclusive and representative opposition. and to support the diplomacy that could bring an end to all the violent and advance a political transition and a future in syria where all people's rights are upheld. those are goals that we share. and we will keep working towards those goals. and more broadly given sweden's

close partnership with nato, we also touched on some of the other security challenges. and i expressed my appreciation for the extraordinary work that the swedish armed forces has done in a whole range of issues including afghanistan efforts to resolve some of the conflicts in central eastern europe, and the ongoing training that's also being provided and the good example that's being provided by swedish armed forces here in europe. mindful of the jobs that are supported by trade between our two country, we discussed ways to partner more, including creating a clean energy partnership that creates jobs and combats climate change effectively. sweden is be an extraordinary leader when it comes to tackling climate change and increasing energy efficiency and developing -- >> we're listening right now to

president obama. live press conference from stockholm, sweden. the president of course speaking about syria and specifically saying, again, that he believes assad was personally responsible for the chemical weapons used. the president is of course using this 24-hour visit to the swedish capital to not only talk about syria but also to show a softer side of u.s. diplomacy. and he's focusing on climate change, technology, trade. and other issues, where there is a broad consensus with european allies. he was speaking earlier about gay and lesbian rights. again, doing what he can to present a more positive progressive side to the united states of america on the eve of what has to be a fairly imminent

attack on syria. let's step back in. >> -- comprehensive agreement, can create more jobs and opportunity on both sides of the atlantic. as i head into the g-20, i shared my view that here in europe and around the world, we've got to stay focused on creating jobs and growth. that's going to be critically important not only for our chis but also to maintain staability in many of our democracies under severe stress at this point. i want to salute sweeten for your strong support for democracy and development. >> so dan senor, the president openly saying here, again, taking issues where there is agreement between america and the europe allies. but the message is very clear this morning. assad is responsible for chemical weapons and assad will pay. >> he's giving that -- making

that statement from sweden, but his audience is congress. and particularly congressional democrats. because as chuck said earlier today on the show, he may be overseas, but the one thing on his mind right now is how he gets votes back home for this. >> it's going to be the house democrats that are really going to be feeling the pressure over this next week. >> sure. i think for many of they, it's not a vote they want to make. it's a vote as nancy pelosi has indicated clearly they're going to make for their president. i do thing also politically it's not a bad place for them to be. to vote no on this and have assad use chemical weapons again would be a terrible thing for any politician. >> the press conference has opened up. the first question is being asked of president obama. we are going to go back into the press conference to get his response on this question about syria and then stick around because "the daily rundown" is straight ahead. >> now that you're here, you've

been here for several hours, what have you seen? what actually inspires you? what do you want to import to the u.s. in terms of ideas for society? >> well, let me take the nsa question first. because this is a question that i've received in previous visits to europe -- >> and good morning from washington. this is "the daily rundown." you're looking at live pictures of president obama talking to reporters in sweden. i'm kristin welker. chuck todd is traveling with the president and will join us momentarily. for right now, back to the president. >> -- improve our understanding of what's happening around the world. and in light of 9/11, a lot of energy was focused on improving our intelligence when it came to combating